Rudd Govt faces telecommunications challenge

The telecommunications industry will no doubt be keeping a close eye on how the new Labor Government facilitates the building of Australia's much-needed high-speed broadband network.

Transcript

ALI MOORE: While the Rudd Government has moved quickly on climate change, another major challenge is in the area of telecommunications, where it's promised to spend billions of dollars to rollout fast broadband.

The G9 group of telcos led by Optus, today put forward its claims to build the network.

Telstra is also keen to win the $4.7 billion contract and after a protracted war of words with the previous government, it appears to be changing tack and today at least, adopted a much more diplomatic tone.

Andrew Robertson reports.

ANDREW ROBERTSON: As Stephen Conroy and his Cabinet colleagues were being sworn in by the Governor-General in Canberra, in Sydney, members of the industry he'll have carriage of were meeting to discuss their hopes for life under a Labor Government. A theme which quickly emerged was that it's time to stop the haggling and get Australia's high-speed broadband network built.

VAUGHAN BOWEN, M2 TELECOMMUNICATIONS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Frankly we've had a situation for the last at least two years beyond that, where we've had so many regulatory influences and inputs and we've had obviously a great deal of competitive debate. That where we've got to is basically nowhere.

ANDREW ROBERTSON: M2 telecommunications is a mid-tier telco, whose business has been held back by the wrangling over broadband. Vaughan Bowen believes an important task for Stephen Conroy is to sort out the regulatory environment surrounding the telco industry.

VAUGHAN BOWEN: It's all very well to talk about a wonderful network and talk about how fast it is, but if the accessibility a, on value or affordability and b, on just getting onto the network as a competitor is undetermined, then where do we go?

ANDREW ROBERTSON: Labor went to the election promising to spend nearly $5 billion rolling out what it described, as a world class national broadband network which would reach 98 per cent of Australians and be up to 40 times faster than most current speeds.

The Howard Government pledged nearly $1 billion to an Optus Elders syndicate to help it build a network in competition to Telstra. Optus remains hopeful Labor will honour that deal.

PAUL FLETCHER, OPTUS DIRECTOR CORPORATE AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS: We certainly welcome the commitment that the incoming Government has made to protect and stimulate competition. And Optus, together with other competitive telcos, is certainly very interested in participating in the competitive selection process for the right to build a new national broadband network.

ANDREW ROBERTSON: Perhaps Stephen Conroy's biggest battle will be to keep Telstra on side after watching its protracted conflict with his predecessor Helen Coonan.

And so far the signs from Australia's biggest Australian telco are good.

PHIL BURGESS, TELSTRA GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, PUBLIC POLICY AND COMMUNICATION: With this government, I think, it's very clear they want to see results in the marketplace and so do we. They want to see people served and so do we.

So we have the same general objectives. We need to work out a way that Telstra and the entire industry can benefit from the new vision that the new Government is putting forward.

ANDREW ROBERTSON: The temptation for the new Government will be to unwind what the old government has done. But John Lindsay from internet service provider Internode says for people and businesses in rural areas, who are now getting wireless broadband, that would be a big mistake.

JOHN LINDSAY, INTERNODE RELATIONS MANAGER: Those people were promised broadband, had the promise of broadband taken away and promised broadband once again.

Now they're getting it delivered. So let's not stop doing that and say, okay, you had better wait another two years while we get our act together with the next network.

ANDREW ROBERTSON: As the celebrations of today's swearing in fade into the background in the weeks ahead, Senator Conroy will know the pressure is on him to break the broadband impasse.